title: The small RNA PhrS stimulates synthesis of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa quinolone signal.
abstract: Quorum sensing, a cell-to-cell communication system based on small signal molecules, is employed by the human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa to regulate virulence and biofilm development. Moreover, regulation by small trans-encoded RNAs has become a focal issue in studies of virulence gene expression of bacterial pathogens. In this study, we have identified the small RNA PhrS as an activator of PqsR synthesis, one of the key quorum-sensing regulators in P. aeruginosa. Genetic studies revealed a novel mode of regulation by a sRNA, whereby PhrS uses a base-pairing mechanism to activate a short upstream open reading frame to which the pqsR gene is translationally coupled. Expression of phrS requires the oxygen-responsive regulator ANR. Thus, PhrS is the first bacterial sRNA that provides a regulatory link between oxygen availability and quorum sensing, which may impact on oxygen-limited growth in P. aeruginosa biofilms.
authors.affiliation: Max F. Perutz Laboratories, Department of Microbiology, Immunobiology and Genetics, University of Vienna, Dr Bohrgasse 9, 1030 Vienna, Austria. elisabeth.sonnleitner@univie.ac.at
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sonnleitner
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gonzalez
authors.forename: Theresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sorger-Domenigg
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Heeb
authors.forename: Andreas S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Richter
authors.forename: Rolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Backofen
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hüttenhofer
authors.forename: Dieter
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Haas
authors.forename: Udo
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Bläsi
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D001483:Base Sequence; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D046228:Microarray Analysis; D016366:Open Reading Frames / Q000235:genetics; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015363:Quinolones / Q000378:metabolism*; D053038:Quorum Sensing; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D017423:Sequence Analysis, RNA; D015398:Signal Transduction; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D015363:Quinolones; D012329:RNA, Bacterial; D015534:Trans-Activators; C072908:ANR protein, Pseudomonas aeruginosa